It's raining cats and dogs in Atlanta today, so I'm stuck inside and decided to pull out my old Ratt albums. I'm in the middle of a flashback right now, back to 1985. I'm listening to their 1985 album, Invasion of Your Privacy, and I suddenly remembered a crazy stunt I pulled that year. When I was in the 9th grade, the school year had just begun and I bought this poster for my room:



I had gotten a great camera for my birthday a year or two earlier, so I zoomed in on this poster and took a picture. I then got it developed and took the picture to school to convince my friends that I had gone to the concert and "partied" with Ratt backstage. Needless to say, no one believed me....

Anyway, I'm sitting here listening to these Ratt albums, and I'm totally taken back to 1985...no driver's license, and a Schwinn 10-speed with a bag on the front so I could put my Walkman in there and ride around listening to Ratt. Those were the days.....

You gotta go see this movie...

If you haven't already seen Hotel Rwanda, then go rent it NOW. We watched it tonight, and it is amazing. Get the DVD and watch the Special Features...truly amazing...

Good times in Memphis

My business travels found me in Memphis yesterday (and today), and I was fortunate enough to see a few of my friends while there. I grabbed dinner with Meade & Chris and Meade's mom at the Rendezvous. Of course, we started off with a good ol' cheese plate and then dove into some ribs. From there, we went to McEwen's up the street to have their famous Banana Cream Pie. Talk about delicious!

Meade and her mom had to leave, so Chris and I stayed and drank with Bill, the bartender, until closing time. Then we headed to Earnestine & Hazel's for one more drink, but that turned into MANY more drinks, and we pretty much shut that place down, too!



Earnestine & Hazel's was once a brothel, if you can believe that. The bedrooms are still upstairs, but now they serve as party rooms. With the best jukebox in town, this place draws everyone from locals to Ole Miss students...all there to drink, be merry, and boogie to the tunes.



Needless to say, I was a little tired this morning. I had to pick up an associate from the airport at 9:30 AM...he flew in to help me with my 1:00 PM meeting with AutoZone. Since their office is downtown, I called my client to see if he wanted to do lunch before the meeting, and low and behold, we met at the Rendezvous for more ribs! If you've never been there, you gotta check it out. I sure won't be eating any pork any time soon!!

Anyway, it was a great, short trip to Memphis. I love that town and always have to make the most of my trips there. And the Rendezvous, McEwen's, and Earnestine & Hazel's is the best way to do that!!!

Proud Papa

A good friend of mine from Laurel, Mississippi...Tom Paulsen...is one proud papa. He sent me this picture of him and his new baby girl, Esmee Freja Duthie Paulsen. I thought I'd put this picture up for all the world to see...



I'd say Tom is giving Jefferson a run for his money on that hair!!!

Great concert

Since Hadley's in France for 10 days, I took advantage of my "free time" and decided to go out and see a show. Glen Phillips, former lead singer for Toad the Wet Sprocket, played at the Variety Playhouse last night. A new band out of Nashville, Blue Merle, opened for him, and to be honest, they were the real reason I went to see the show. If you like Coldplay, you'll absolutely LOVE Blue Merle. Their lead singer is a dead ringer for Chris Martin. The only difference is that Blue Merle adds a stand-up base, mandolin player, and a violinist. I know...sounds like a strange combo....but I promise you...give these guys one listen, and you'll be sold...COMPLETELY.

Blue Merle - April 12th, 2005 - Variety Playhouse


Glen Phillips was awesome. To be honest, although I have a few of his solo records, I've never listened to them. I know, I know...weird, but what the heck! Anyway, I was really surprised...he had a full backing band and his solo act really sounds like Toad the Wet Sprocket. It's weird...for years, I listened to Toad and never really knew any of the names of the guys in the band. Then they break up, Glen goes solo, and now you realize that HE was Toad the Wet Sprocket. He played a lot of his solo stuff, but he also played lots of old Toad favorities. Definitely a great night of live music!!

Glen Phillips - April 12th, 2005 - Variety Playhouse

Loud Talker

So I'm on a shuttle at the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport today, and what do you know....there's a guy not three feet from me having, in his tiny world, a conversation I suppose he thought we all wanted to hear...so I just had to get a picture of the guy. I swear you could have heard him on his phone from El Paso...



To be honest, there's a chance that this site will turn into a Loud Talker Central website. If you're smart, you'll tone it down...otherwise you might see yourself here....

The World if FULL of Idiots

So I had a day from hell today. As a result, I decided to post a message and list the things that happened to me today and why I they drive me crazy:

Sunday drivers in the left hand lane

Why is it that people find it necessary to drive slowly in the "fast lane?" There are four lanes on I-75, one of which is the HOV lane. That means there are three extra lanes, two of which should be used by slowpokes. The lane next to the HOV lane is to be used by people who are either willing to go the speed limit, or are living on the edge by surpassing the speed limit. Either way, that lane is for those of us that have a sense of urgency. On my way to work this morning, I got behind a lady in a minivan who was completely unaware that she was going 45 MPH in a 65 MPH lane. Idiots like this are the ones that need to be given a ticket for just being an idiot. Oh, and the fact that she was on her cell phone takes me to my next frustration.

People who can't drive and talk on their cell phones at the same time

So I'm behind this lady this morning, on my way to work, and I'm not exactly in a rush, but I like to at least go the speed limit....especially since there are extra lanes for the idiots. I get behind this minivan and like I said, it's going extremely slow. So I shift into the right lane and proceed to pass the lady, when I notice that she's ON HER CELL PHONE and is talking at 90 MPH to include using her hands. First of all, what in the hell is there to talk about at 7:00 AM in the morning? Who in their right mind would have that much to say that early in the morning? Even if you did have that much to say, do you have to talk about it at 7:00 AM? How do you get so involved in a conversation that you lose complete awareness of your surroundings? I wanted to follow her and then when she stopped somewhere, get out of my car, grab her cell phone, and beat the hell out of her with it. If you can't walk and chew gum, you obviously can't drive and talk on your cell phone at the same time. Again, IDIOTS!!!!

Rednecks that think this is "cool":



On my way to the airport this afternoon, I got behind a guy in a truck, and he had one of these decals on his back window. I see parents with their kids' school decals on their cars. I have a West Point decal on my back window. But what I don't understand is why someone would want to have a decal of a cartoon kid urinating on something. Frankly, it just amazes me, but my buddy Chris Collins says that's the best way to identify them. It may seem crazy, but at least you now know how to identify ignorant rednecks.

People who think you want to hear their cell phone conversations

So I get to the airport and I'm standing in the security line, and there's a woman two lines over from me, and she's talking on her cell phone. I could have heard her if I were at the Memphis airport. Why on Earth does she think ANYONE would want to hear her conversation? I don't care, and no one else does. So why strain your vocal cords by talking so loudly? I got on the plane and the guy that sat directly behind me was doing the same thing. I was seconds away from turning around and telling him to tone it down, when he hung up the phone. It just amazes me that some people are that clueless. Or that they really think we care what they're talking about. Again, IDIOTS.

People that have a wireless headset and now think they need to wear it all day long

Now I'm a gadget guy, and I'd love to have a phone that supports Bluetooth wireless headsets. One day I hope to have one, and when that day comes, I promise you I won't walk around all day with a headset on my ear. Nothing looks more ridiculous than some idiot that's walking around with this crap covering his ear, but he's not talking or using his phone. Gee...it really makes you super cool to walk around with a piece of plastic sticking out of your ear. I guess that means you're really "hip" and "with it." Guess what?! YOU'RE NOT!! YOU'RE A DORK!! When you're done, take it out of your ear!!! IDIOTS!

People who use the word "like" at least five times per sentence

So I get to Dallas tonight after my flight was delayed an hour, and I go to grab some late night grub. I sit next to a table of kids, and I swear, every single one of them used the word "like" at least 200 times over the course of the conversation. Now I was a child of the 80's and I certainly remember the days of the Valley Girls. But this is different. The year is 2005 people. "Like, I went over Missy's house, and she was like, not home, so I like, went back home and like called her on my cell phone, and I was like, 'Missy...where are you? And she was like, I'm not home...and I was like, I know that...like where are you?...." Isn't that absolutely ridiculous?! Once again, IDIOTS!!

Well, that's it for now. I'll probably post more after I run into more ignorant people tomorrow....

Congratulations, Mike and Julie!

Ladies and gentlemen, I want to introduce you to Major and Mrs. Mike Coachys!



Mike & Julie were married on Saturday, April 2nd, 2005, in Rosemary Beach, Florida. It was a beautiful wedding, and Julie looked more gorgeous than ever! Congrats, once again, Mike and Julie!

To see pictures from the wedding weekend, please click here.